Have you ever tried to get dressed in the dark? I have. I’m up early on Sunday mornings. I don’t want to bother Lori so I grab my clothes, get dressed and get out of the bedroom without turning on the lights. There’s normally just enough ambient light to see what I need to see. The problem with doing anything in the dark is that you might not see things that others do.
I’ll never forget the Sunday morning that someone pointed out, very discretely, that I had on two different color socks. In the dark they both looked the same. In the daylight it was quite obvious that I had made a mistake. One sock was blue. The other was gray. I never even noticed. Thankfully, there was someone there looking out for me. I went home and made the change before the whole world found out.
I was reminded of that event the other morning. I got to church early and made myself a cup of coffee in the kitchenette. I didn’t bother to turn on the light. I was acting on autopilot. I’d been in that kitchenette many times before. I just felt my way around. I found the Keurig and made the coffee. As I was walking out the door I stumbled over something and nearly spilled it all over myself.
You would think that after all these years I would have learned to turn on the lights and stop fumbling around in the dark. Yet, I’m still doing it. It struck me that a lot of us have the same problem. We keep doing things that we know won’t be productive. Whether it is habit, or pride, or something else, it is almost as if we can’t stop ourselves.Why do we do this? I think the apostle Paul has the answer to the riddle.
In Romans 7, the Apostle says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” He has a name for it. It is called sin. It is the prideful urge to do the opposite of what we know is right. It is the choice to continue groping in the darkness instead of turning on the light. It is the response of the 4-year-old who stomps his or her feet and says, “Me do it!”
The good news is that we don’t have to live that way. Paul says, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” It wasn’t that long ago we celebrated Christmas. It marked the dawning of a new day. In writing about the birth of Jesus, the apostle John says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Once we decide to follow Jesus we no longer have to stumble around in the darkness. When we walk with the Lord, the light is always on. Jesus is the living Word and the Psalmist says that the Word is a lamp unto our feet. He shows us the way to go. So stop walking around in the darkness. Let his light shine in your life and then let others find their way in your wake.
The Rev. Cal Lord is pastor of Central Baptist Church in Westerly.
"light" - Google News
February 06, 2021 at 08:30AM
https://ift.tt/3oSTDOx
Practicing Faith: Live in Jesus' light and you'll find your way - The Westerly Sun
"light" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Wm8QLw
https://ift.tt/2Stbv5k
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Practicing Faith: Live in Jesus' light and you'll find your way - The Westerly Sun"
Post a Comment